Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Pokédex no Isekai
Chapter Three: A blast from the past
Despite a bit of a rocky start given some information they learned, the reborn trainers were able to get started on their quest to complete the Pokédex, starting with completing the Kanto Pokédex. They had made some decent progress, with the notable example of Dawn having caught a Spearow. The crew of The Big Beauty were taking a break near a Pokémon Center located near Mount Moon, having lunch.
This saw Dawn feed her on hand team which consisted of her named Infernape Chi-Chi, her named Latios Lincoln, her named Palkia Tsukune, her named Lucario Leni, her named alpha Hisuian Arcanine Argent, and the aforementioned Spearow. Spearow, a male who Dawn named Captain Jack, looked a bit nervous to be having lunch with bigger and more powerful Pokémon, but Dawn reassured him, telling him he'll be fine.
"So from what I can tell," Trip said as he reviewed a list that he held, "We're ticking off names from the list of Kanto Pokémon at a fairly respectable rate. It shouldn't be too difficult to get every Pokémon in Kanto registered as caught. Well, we'll still need to do touch trades with Ash to get the legendary birds registered. But aside from that, there's not too many big names on the Kanto list to worry about."
"We still ought to be careful though," Dawn remarked, "Especially as Team Heart has a presence here in Kanto."
"Wait, what will we do when we have to go to a region that's part of the Team Heart Empire?" Kenny asked, "Team Heart can't stop us in places like Kanto, but they can in places they rule like Johto, which is the region up after we're done here in Kanto."
Dawn let out a troubled sigh. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Dawn still didn't like how, due to using time travel to fix up Ideku Badorigo's childhood, Team Heart ended up existing and taking over slash ruling over half of the known world. It's a big reason why Dawn is against the use of time travel to fix things; there's too many possibilities of things going wrong.
Gently shaking her head, Dawn said, "So anyway, where should we go next?"
"Actually Dawn," Leona spoke up, "We got a call from Brock, telling us that the museum in Pewter City has fossils of the extinct Pokémon Kabuto and Omanyte, and that the museum actually wants to give them to you. Can't fossils of Pokémon be revived back into living breathing Pokémon?"
"Dood!" Kenny exclaimed, "I forgot about fossil Pokémon! We totally ought to hit up the museum to see those fossils!"
Dawn nodded in agreement; fossil Pokémon might have otherwise been rather difficult for Dawn, Kenny, Trip, and Mina to get a hold of. But here they're more or less being handed right over to Dawn on a silver platter. She's betting that being the World Coronation Series Monarch in this timeline has something to do with it.
As lunch was winding down, some rustling in the nearby grass alerted the Pokémon of the heroes who were eating. Everyone turned to look and saw a greenish colored Ekans come slithering out of the grass and over to Dawn's named Spearow Captain Jack, who was the Pokémon closest to the greenish colored Ekans when it came out of the grass. The greenish colored Ekans slithered up to Captain Jack and, in Pokémon-talk, seemed to be asking something of him.
"That's a shiny Ekans that's talking to Dawn's Spearow," Rhyanna remarked.
Looking over to James and Meowth, Dawn asked, "Hey Meowth, do you know what Ekans is asking of Captain Jack?"
"Ekans is saying it's hungry, not having eaten in a while," Meowth began, "It noticed that your Spearow had some food, so it's politely asking Spearow to share some food with it."
Looking curious, Kenny said, "Really? Ekans is simply asking Dawn's Spearow to share some food with it? And it's even being polite?"
Looking over, Dawn called out, "Hey Ekans! Give me a moment and I'll prep a dish of food for you!" Ekans perked up at the word of food being preped for it, so it slithered over to where Dawn was at as she got a dish ready. She lowered it to the ground, setting it in front of the wild shiny, before she said, "Here you go, dig in."
Ekans let out a happy hissing cry before it began to go to town on the food, leaving not even a single crumb behind. After the food was all gone, Ekans slithered up and rubbed its head affectionately against Dawn's right shin. This interaction eventually led to Dawn capturing the Ekans, crossing that Pokémon off of the list of Kanto Pokémon.
"And it's a shiny Ekans," Rhyanna said, "How lucky are you?"
"It'll evolve into a shiny Arbok," James said, "I bet that Jessie will insist that her Arbok will be the better one between the two, regardless of hers not being shiny."
Dawn and the others all turned to regard James and Meowth. "We still have a bone to pick with Jessie," Dawn began, "And that means you two will be going up against her. That being said, are the two of you confident that you can face Jessie?"
"Trust us, twerp," Meowth said, "It was Jessie who burned the bridge, not me or James."
Dawn nodded in acceptance, then proceeded to check her newly caught shiny Ekans, which was female. Smirking a bit, Dawn said, "I think I'll hold off on naming her for a bit. I need to do a little bit of checking around with my Pokémon first." The ball containing Dawn's newly caught shiny Ekans was then sent to Oak's Lab.
When everything else was finished, Dawn and the rest of the crew packed up and took off for Pewter City, to look into those fossils of Kabuto and Omanyte. They also had a chance to go visit Brock. They understood that Brock, same as Ash, isn't on speaking terms with Misty right now, although Ash and Brock are still on speaking terms with each other, their friendship is still solid.
But the reborn trainers have no clue from Ash WHY he and Brock aren't on speaking terms with Misty at the moment. Maybe they can get answers out of Brock.
Later over in Pewter City, Dawn had Heath land The Big Beauty near the Pewter City gym, where Dawn and her crew were warmly received by Brock and his younger siblings. Dawn noted that Brock had a frosty attitude towards James and Meowth, but she's attributing that to the past history that James and Meowth have against Brock, Ash, and some of their other friends due to how James and Meowth, along with Jessie, had harassed them while they had been a part of the now long defunct Team Rocket.
"There's also how Ash is still hurting over how Jessie," Brock said when asked about his opinion, "Who now is a member of Team Heart and is a Captain ranked Officer member no less, had gotten away with stealing Pikachu. I think that I heard that Gary's Umbreon was also successfully stolen by Team Heart in that same act at the charity tournament event."
"Well you can count on us to keep an eye on James and Meowth," Kenny said, "If I detect even one whiff of treachery from either of them, they're getting the shoehorn."
"The..." James said, looking and sounding confused with a hint of terrified worry, "...shoehorn?" Meowth looked similarly as worried as James.
Dawn gently shook her head. "You don't wanna know." To Brock, Dawn began, "So Brock, would it be alright if my crew and I were to rest here a bit while we handle business over at the Pewter City museum? I got it that there's fossils of Kabuto and Omanyte over there that the museum staff want to hand over to me."
Brock nodded once in the affirmative. "Sure thing, Dawn."
"Oh, there's something we wanna ask you," Mina went on, catching Brock's attention, "Something we failed to get much detail from out of Ash, but we suspect that you know just as much as Ash does and might be able to tell us more."
The air that Brock gave off instantly gained a hint of suspicion. "...Let me guess," Brock said, "You guys heard that Ash and I aren't on speaking terms with Misty right now."
"Respectfully, we'd like to know what exactly happened," Trip said, "Maybe we can help fix things there and get you and Ash to be friends with Misty aga-"
"There's not much that can be done until Misty realizes that what she did was wrong," Brock cut in, sounding like a guy without mercy for the person he's talking about, "She knows what she did, she just has to acknowledge it before she even has a chance to begin making up for her screw up."
It was clear to the reborn trainers that Brock, same as Ash, knew what Misty had done but was not even going to give details as to what it was. Dawn made a mental note to go visit Cerulean City and see Misty; in addition to getting every Kanto Pokémon registered as caught and having to deal with slash learn more about Team Heart, the reborn trainers had a mystery to solve. A mystery that has a focus on Ash, Brock, and Misty.
It was a mystery that they were going to have to tackle, because they can't in good faith leave the present bad blood that Ash and Brock have against Misty be.
...
After Dawn had collected the two Pokémon fossils from the Pewter City museum, she returned to the Pewter City gym so see that Trip was giving the younger siblings of Brock a guided tour of The Big Beauty. At least Trip made sure to not take the kids to see the private rooms of the members of the flying ship's crew. Dawn found to her delight that her personal room on board of The Big Beauty had a big cozy papasan chair; she doesn't want anyone messing with it.
She also saw that Brock and Lance the Cook were making dinner for everyone. When Dawn greeted Brock and Lance upon returning from the Pewter City museum, Brock said, "Hey Dawn, Lance here told me that you caught a shiny Ekans. Is that true?"
Nodding once, Dawn replied, "Yes. I have plans to train it so it can evolve into Arbok. James had said that Jessie would insist that her Arbok will be better if she ever saw my eventual shiny Arbok. I'm guessing it'll be a pride thing for Jessie."
Brock gave a single, understanding nod. "Yeah, that does sound like Jessie, alright." Brock and Lance by that point had gotten dinner ready, so they asked Dawn to let both the rest of the crew and all of Brock's siblings know. Nodding in agreement, Dawn turned around to first store her Pokémon fossils away, then she went about fetching everyone for dinner.
Despite how things in this timeline are vastly different, Dawn saw that the folding chairs and tables that Sho got from the Team Star bases in Paldea were still in the storage room of The Big Beauty. Dawn also still had the Team Star boss journals, as well as the Team Star Badges, and the Titan badges from Arven. But the contents of the Team Star boss journals, when Dawn checked them all later, were different, being more reflective of feelings about the rising presence of Team Heart in the Paldea region.
Speaking of the Paldea region, unlike in the previous timeline, in this timeline Paldea as well as Kitakami had NOT been ravaged to the point they're uninhabitable for humans and most species of Pokémon. Both lands are still perfectly habitable for humans and Pokémon, but both are part now territories that are part of the Team Heart Empire. Dawn also had a passing thought about how the Paldean wealthy elite, assuming they didn't meet the same ultimate fate in this timeline that they met in the previous timeline, would deal with living under Team Heart authority.
"Oh, I actually heard a bit about how things in Paldea are run under the Team Heart regime," the oldest of Brock's younger brothers began, "Apparently, Paldea's native wealthy elite have to make regular payments of 'tribute' to the Team Heart-installed government. It's the same for other wealthy elite in other lands under the banner of Team Heart."
"Because of how much the wealthy elite of Paldea have to pay in their regular payments of 'tribute'," one of Brock's younger sisters said, "They were left unable to afford to help financially support Blueberry Academy which is located in Unovan waters. As a result, Blueberry Academy was forced to shut down. Its students had to transfer to a trainer school located on the Unovan mainland."
"Isn't Unova also a territory that's part of the Team Heart Empire?" Trip asked.
"Along with the Delacore Islands, yes," Brock said, "Which same as the Orange Islands are close to Kanto. And Kanto is next door neighbors with Johto, which is ALSO part of the Team Heart Empire. It's part of why security and law enforcement here in Kanto are so paranoid about making sure that Kanto doesn't get taken over by Team Heart."
"Well now it makes more sense," Kenny said, "Team Heart is on multiple sides of Kanto. The region is more or less surrounded."
Pointing to Kenny, Brock said, "I got it that Lt. Surge, the Vermilion City gym leader, is also a leading figure in the security for Kanto to prevent a Team Heart invasion. He has the military experience to help him with leading the men in regional security to prevent Team Heart from trying to cross over the borders and onto Kanto soil."
"Does it eat into his time for his gym leader duties?" Dawn asked, curious.
Gently shaking his head, Brock replied, "Not as much as what one may think. But his duties both as a gym leader and as a leading member of Kanto regional security to prevent a Team Heart invasion of Kanto leaves Lt. Surge without time for much else. I heard that he had to skip out on taking part in the most recent World Coronation Series. By the way Dawn, congratulations on winning the title of Monarch and keeping it."
Nodding once, Dawn said, "Thanks." She still can't believe that she kept the Monarch title in this timeline, although she wonders what the story behind her getting it here was. She's pretty sure that it's at least somewhat different from the story behind why she fought to get it back in the previous timeline. She supposed that she can find out later, though.
Later that night, the crew of The Big Beauty decided to stay in Pewter City for the night, being parked right next to the Pewter City gym. Dawn got up because she needed to use the bathroom, but all bathrooms were somehow occupied. Grumbling, Dawn walked out onto the open air deck of her flying ship, called out her named Latios Lincoln, got on, and had him fly her to the ground so she could enter the gym to see if a bathroom in there is available.
In her travels to find an available bathroom, however, Dawn noticed some suspicious movements within the gym. She also saw a distinct hairstyle; even though it was more or less a silhouette, there was no mistaking that long, curved hairstyle. Dawn scowled, not believing it that she of all people had the nerve to try and sneak into where Brock's family lived and do whatever it was that they were going to wanna try to do.
Not on Dawn's watch, missy.
...
"Captain Jessie, are you sure that this is a good idea?" Merdez asked in a hushed whisper as she, Jessie, and half a dozen male Team Heart grunts snuck through the Pewter City gym, "I mean, that's Sinnoh Champion Dawn's flying ship parked outside next to the Pewter City gym! What if she or one of her crew members catches onto us?"
"It's the middle of the night, and everyone's asleep," Jessie hissed back, "We just sneak in, steal one small Pokémon from the Pewter Gym twerp, sneak out, and then high tail it the heck out of here! No fuss no muss."
The members of Team Heart snuck through the residential area of the Pewter City gym, and eventually found where all of Brock's Pokémon were sleeping. It was actually the stadium room, which was necessary given the sheer size of Brock's Steelix. Among the various Pokémon that are under Brock's ownership was his Comfey.
Jessie took out an extendable mechanical arm with a large white gloved hand, used it to quietly and gently grab Comfey, put it in a container it couldn't get out of, and then seal the container up. "There, mission accomplished," Jessie said, "Now let's make like hockey equipment and get the puck out of here! We don't wanna get caught, now do we?"
Jessie then proceeded to lead her group all the way out back the way they came. However, as they crossed through the hallway, they stopped short upon seeing a random Spearow standing in the middle of the hallway. "Uh-oh," Merdez said, "Spearows can be fairly loud, so if this one decides to greet us, it could wake up the entire gym."
Taking out her mechanical grabbing arm again, Jessie said, "Then we'll just grab it too and zip its beak before it can give us away." Jessie then took aim with her mechanical grabbing arm to try to snatch up the Spearow. But the moment it saw something reach forward to try to grab it, Spearow let out a loud cry that resonated throughout the entire gym.
Jessie even dropped her mechanical grabbing arm out of reflex to cover her ears, right before the Spearow flew back and landed on the out held arm of Dawn Berlitz, Champion of Sinnoh and (in this timeline) Monarch of the World Coronation Series. "Jessie," Dawn said evenly, "You shall remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Spearow."
"Damn it! We've been exposed!" Jessie snarled, and all of the noise that had been made woke up the Comfey that Jessie and her men were trying to steal from Brock.
Dawn noticed this as she recalled Captain Jack. "That's Brock's Comfey," Dawn said, "Hand it back over if you wanna get out of this with minimal injuries."
"My men have you outnumbered six to one, twerp!" Jessie declared, "Add Merdez and I, and it becomes eight to one!"
"Hey Dawn!" Brock's voice called out, "Was that your Spearow that cried out just now?!"
Giving Jessie a knowing smirk, Dawn said, "You, uhh, may wanna check your math again, Jessie." Snarling in anger, Jessie had her men rush into the nearest bedroom, which was being used by the youngest of Brock's sisters. One of the men had his Graveler use Explosion on the window to blow not just the window out, but also a large enough section of the wall to let Team Heart all run outside and get out.
Dawn gave chase, as did Brock when he saw what happened. Dawn and Brock soon ran outside of the Pewter City gym, but stopped short when they saw that one of Jessie's men had taken the youngest of Brock's little sisters as a hostage. "Let Brock's sister and Comfey go, Jessie," Dawn said, fully pissed off now.
"The mission from Admin Hanae was to take just one Pokémon from the Pewter Gym twerp," Jessie said, "We're bringing the kid along as insurance to ensure you let us get away. You guys try anything, you won't like what we'll do to the girl."
"You monsters!" Brock yelled, "Is there no low that you won't sink to?!"
"If it makes you feel any better, we'll drop the brat as soon as we're far enough away to ensure you won't be able to catch us," said the Team Heart grunt holding Brock's little sister hostage, "But don't go getting any bright ideas about trying to catch us." Team Heart then turned around to run off, but Jessie turned back around, stuck her tongue out while pulling down on a lower eyelid, then turned back around to run off with her men as she laughed out loud in gloating, triumphant victory.
Dawn and Brock couldn't go after Team Heart, not without risk to Brock's little sister. They had to stand there and let Team Heart take a win that they by no means deserved. They could only hope that they'll keep their word and leave Brock's little sister behind once they're far enough away to ensure their escape from justice.
Early the next morning, Dawn and Brock returned to the Pewter City gym, where everyone else was already awake and active, also some law enforcement and regional security were there. Brock was carrying his youngest little sister in his arms; she was settled down now, but very clearly had been freaking out earlier. As soon as Dawn and Brock walked up to the scene, they were greeted by Trip, Kenny, and Mina all jogging up to them, James and Meowth both following along behind them.
"What happened?" Trip asked.
"Jessie and some Team Heart personnel she led snuck into the Pewter Gym a few hours ago to steal a Pokémon from Brock," Dawn explained, "They also took Brock's sister who Brock is carrying right now hostage to ensure that they be allowed to get away. They dropped her near the city limits for Pewter City, which is where Brock and I found her."
"So they took a small child hostage to force you to let them off the hook," James scowled, "Wait, what Pokémon did they take?"
"My Comfey," Brock replied, looking and sounding grim.
Meowth looked a bit confused. "Jessie and her goons only took your Comfey? Why that one though? This is me speaking from personal experience as a former crook, but wouldn't a big and strong Pokémon like your Steelix be a better prize than your Comfey?"
James looked similarly as confused as Meowth. "He's got a point," James said, "I too have some personal experience as a former crook, and from that I can tell you that Jessie and her goons can stand to make a lot more off of stealing a Steelix than stealing a Comfey, so stealing Comfey does not make a lot of sense. Just what are the higher ups in Team Heart planning?"
"No clue," Brock replied, and he would have gone on but some law enforcement men and regional security men came up to Brock and Dawn to ask them some questions. Dawn could tell full well that she was going to be needing coffee when all of this business was done and over with. Luckily for her the kitchen on board of The Big Beauty had a selection of coffee creamers.
Dawn's favorite was Hazelnut, while Mina favored Kalosian Vanilla.
...
Dawn and the others had spent more than an hour being grilled for details by Kanto region law enforcement and regional security concerning the attack that was carried out on the Pewter City gym the previous night by Team Heart. The regional security men were particularly anal about getting what all details that they could, and one even snapped and got belligerent in tone when it was explained that Team Heart last night had to be allowed to get away.
"They took a small child hostage," one law enforcement man said to the snappy regional security man, "What did you expect Brock and Dawn to do? Allow Team Heart to harm the small child so that they could capture Team Heart?"
The snappy regional security man, realizing that he couldn't say anything, decided to keep his mouth shut, although he was still fuming over how Team Heart last night was allowed to get away scot free. Especially so as an Officer ranked member of Team Heart could have been captured; as of this moment, no Team Heart Officers have been captured by any of the good guys in the world.
The good guys in the world haven't even captured an Officer's Assistant. They've only been able to snap up the rank and file level grunt members of Team Heart. It'd be a major win for what good guys are out there to at least scratch the command structure of the villainous regime that currently rules over half of the known world.
Sighing in a resigned tone, the officer who spoke up in defense of Dawn and Brock said, "Sorry about that. It's a constant struggle for Kanto to remain a free territory, what with Johto next door and both the Orange Islands and Delacore Islands nearby. Kanto does not have a lot of breathing room away from Team Heart."
"Just because the regional security men for Kanto are constantly fighting to keep Kanto free does not give them the right to be jerks to others," Dawn remarked.
The officer nodded once in agreement. "So what did you say was stolen by Team Heart last night?" the officer asked.
"My Comfey," Brock explained.
Arching a curious eyebrow, the officer said, "Just one Pokémon? That's it? And don't you have bigger Pokémon like a Crobat and a Forrtress and a Steelix? Why would Team Heart pass up targets like those in favor of a smaller Pokémon like a Comfey?"
"My best guess is the fact that Comfey is a small Pokémon that can be easily grabbed and gotten away with," Dawn remarked.
The officer nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that makes sense," the officer replied. After a few more statements were gathered, the officers and regional security men all took off, leaving Brock the task of figuring out where his little sisters will sleep until their bedroom's wall is fixed. One of the younger sisters of Brock suggested that she and the others can sleep aboard Dawn's flying ship.
"Problem with that," Dawn said, "As soon as my crew and I are done here, we're taking off out of Pewter City. We can't stay here for good." When the little sisters of Brock all went 'aww' in tones of complaint, Dawn decided to give them and their brothers another tour of The Big Beauty, although she first asked Brock if it was okay, given that all of his little siblings very clearly wanted to see what the inside of the giant flying ship was like.
Brock, seeing that it would take his little siblings' minds off of what happened last night, agreed but stressed it to his younger siblings to be on their best behavior and do as Dawn said as she showed them around The Big Beauty.
(Unknown location, Kanto region)
Jessie and Merdez, both barefoot, stood before Admin Hanae and Admin's Assistant Emi, both of them also barefoot. But then again they were in the martial arts sparring room set up by Hanae at the Team Heart base in Kanto, and the cocoa skinned muscular pretty boy with dishwater blonde hair has a strict no shoes policy for that room. The shoes of all of them were off to the side of the room, up against the wall.
Jessie and Merdez handed over Brock's Comfey in a special container from which it wouldn't be able to escape. "Excellent work, Captain Jessie," Hanae said, "Brock's Comfey here, as well as Ash's Pikachu who we already have, will play important roles in a future mission that Team Heart's efforts here in Kanto will be running."
"What's the mission, sir?" Jessie asked.
"Respectfully, you don't necessarily have to know as you won't be a part of it," Hanae replied, "I'll be personally running that mission."
"The excluding of Captain Jessie isn't related to how we had to take one of the younger sisters of Brock of the Pewter City gym hostage in order to ensure our full escape, is it?" Merdez asked, a look of concern on her face.
"No, I had decided since long before now that I would be personally running the mission that involves the use of Ash's Pikachu and Brock's Comfey here," Hanae replied, "Although now that you had brought it up, I would like to know why you decided to take a child hostage."
"We had no choice, sir," Jessie said, "The Sinnoh Champ twerp was at the Pewter City gym and-"
"Hang on a minute, Captain Jessie," Emi cut in, "When you say 'Sinnoh Champ twerp', are you talking about Dawn Berlitz?"
Nodding once in the affirmative for her captain, Merdez said, "Yes, Captain Jessie is indeed talking about Dawn Berlitz."
"The Champion of Sinnoh and Monarch of the World Coronation Series," Hanae remarked, "What is she doing in Kanto?"
Shrugging, Jessie said, "No clue, Admin Hanae. All I know is that I wasn't even aware she was there, wasn't even expecting her to be there."
Hanae gave Jessie a considering look. "...So you didn't knowing and willingly try to challenge her. Good. Just to be on the safe side Captain Jessie, if you're running a mission in the future and you are able to see it a head of time that you and your men will run into Dawn Berlitz if you try to go through with the mission, just abort the mission and get the hell out of there. It's nothing short of a damn miracle that Dawn Berlitz was there and you not only completed the mission anyway but were also able to get away with all of the men you brought with you."
Jessie nodded in obedience before looking to her Admin. "So what's next for me to so, sir?" Jessie asked.
"Well first off, you can't go off on another mission until I can get your payment for the mission you just completed to you," Hanae began, "You didn't lose any men this time so no money will be taken off. After that, I want you and your Captain's Assistant here to prepare to go to the Johto region."
Jessie looked curious about her next assignment. "The Johto region, sir?" Jessie asked.
"The Admin in charge of the Johto Sector of Team Heart needs a Captain to fill in for one of his Captains who's recovering from an injured leg," Hanae explained, "They'll be out of commission for a while. Also, Dawn Berlitz for all we know is still in Kanto, and I bet that she'll relish the chance to get some payback on you for successfully giving her the slip. Kanto's a bit hot for you right now more or less, so it'd be a good idea to get you out of Kanto, at least until Dawn Berlitz is gone."
Seeing the logic in Hanae's words, Jessie said, "Good to know, Admin Hanae."
"You'll be reporting to the Admin of the Johto Sector while in Johto, but he and I are of a kind," Hanae said, "Don't expect anything out of him that you wouldn't expect out of me. Also I'm still the Admin ultimately responsible for you, so if you screw up in Johto and the Admin of the Johto Sector tells me about it, I'll be VERY upset."
Jessie gulped nervously before she said, "I read you loud and clear, sir."
"Is there anything that we ought to be made aware of while we're in Johto, sir?" Merdez asked.
"Johto, unlike Kanto, is part of the Team Heart Empire," Emi began, "Making Team Heart the leading authority in Johto. Unlike here in Kanto, in Johto you're free to go about in broad daylight and no-one can raise a stink about it. You'll be more or less untouchable."
"Ooh hoo hoo hoo!" Jessie laughed, "That sounds like it'll be very fun!"
"It doesn't mean you'll get to do as you please, though," Hanae stressed, "So no doing any Team Heart work unless the Admin of the Johto Sector says that you can. I don't wanna hear him tell me that you stole a Pokémon or two from someone without his authorization on the matter. Am I clear on that?"
Jessie looked like she was told she was going to go to an amusement park but wouldn't be allowed on the ride that she wanted to go on the most. "Yessir, Admin Hanae," Jessie replied. After that, both Jessie and Merdez were dismissed, so they collected their shoes and took off from the room that they were in with Hanae and Emi.
After Merdez closed the door behind her and Jessie, Hanae turned to look at Emi. "Jessie is a bit touch and go when it comes to being an Officer in Team Heart," Hanae said, "But she does get some good results from time to time, I have to admit. She just needs to rein in her vice-fueled tendencies."
"Can she be trusted to do work in the Johto Sector, though?" Emi asked, "I mean you saw how she reacted when told that she'll be untouchable to anyone in Johto who's not a part of Team Heart. I'm worried she may lose focus and give into her vices and steal a Pokémon from someone she has no business trying to steal a Pokémon from."
"The Admin of the Johto Sector will give her and Merdez a necessary rundown to educate her on what trainers in Johto to NOT mess with," Hanae explained, "He'll also make it clear to Jessie that he personally won't stand for any form of religious discrimination."
Emi perked up at that. "Ah yes. The Admin of the Johto Sector is Donzish, and those of his faith tend to be discriminated against by non-Donzish people."
Hanae nodded in confirmation. The plight that the Admin of the Johto Sector reminded Hanae of the struggles that he himself had faced in the past. When a region or territory is taken over by Team Heart, their first act as the new ruling authority in the land in question is to stamp out various forms of discrimination in that land.
The Kanto Sector of Team Heart actually rules the Orange Islands, and Hanae as the Admin in charge of the Kanto Sector of Team Heart is the Governor of the Orange Islands, the Head of State for the Orange Islands. It's much like how the Admin of the Johto Sector of Team Heart is also the Governor of Johto.
If Team Heart is able to take Kanto, then Hanae will be moved from being Governor of the Orange Islands to being Governor of Kanto. He'll still preside over the Orange Islands, but he'll have to pick one of the Captains serving under him to take over as Governor of the Orange Islands. If that does ever happen, then Hanae knows one thing for certain.
He won't pick Jessie for the job.
END, CHAPTER THREE
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the reborn trainers begin trying to complete the Kanto Pokédex, and it sees Dawn with both a Spearow and a shiny Ekans. The crew of The Big Beauty then heads to Pewter City to see about Kabuto and Omanyte fossils promised to Dawn, also the reborn trainers wanna see Brock who along with Ash isn't on speaking terms with Misty at the moment.
Their hopes of learning why exactly Ash and Brock aren't on speaking terms with Misty at the moment are dashed when Brock refuses to go into detail. Things do end up settling down though, and soon everyone is able to settle down for the night and go to sleep, with the reborn trainers all looking forward to continuing the Pokédex completion quest in the morning.
But Jessie leads some men into the Pewter Gym at night to steal a single, small Pokémon from Brock which ends up being his Comfey. Although caught by Dawn who had to find an unoccupied bathroom, Team Heart is ultimately able to get away scot free because they took one of the younger sisters of Brock hostage to force Dawn and Brock to let them go.
The heroes deal with the police and regional security in the morning, and the reborn trainers are forced to accept it that Team Heart had dealt them an 'L'. Meanwhile, Hanae praises Jessie for a job well done, but warns her against knowingly going up against Dawn in the future. He then tells Jessie that she and Merdez will be going to Johto shortly.
What will happen in the future? Why is the Admin of the Johto Sector so defensive about the religion that he practices? Will Jessie ever get the beating that she has coming for channeling her inner Malty? That all will be found out later. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Tsukune (Palkia), Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Leni (female Lucario), Lincoln (male Latios), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Captain Jack (male Spearow)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Black (Giratina), Shallot (male Glaceon), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Moista Fista (male Ursaluna)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Deelia (Dialga), Tsunade (female Gastrodon; East Sea), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Veda (female Abomasnow), Myde (male Empoleon), Fourze (male Electivire)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Gardevoir (male), Lucario (female), Umbreon (male; shiny), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny)